Interpreting Sandy Alderson’s interview on WFAN

October 5th, 201212:36 am

Matthew Cerrone , Lead Writer

I find it difficult to take everything Sandy Alderson says at face value. Frankly, this is a compliment, because I think any CEO should be very careful with how he answers questions. That may not be a whole lot of fun for sports debate and speculation, but it’s smart business.

Thankfully, Francesa has a way of pulling (on the record) information from Alderson that I don’t hear in his public conversations with reporters.

So, in listening between the lines of this interview, and based on other things I’ve heard from people connected to the team, it’s sounding to me like:

RA Dickey will either be signed to an extension or traded.

The team will make David Wright an offer worth more than $100 million, but he will be here on Opening Day whether he signs it or not.

Alderson would like to add 30 to 40 home runs to the lineup over the next two seasons, probably in the outfield; and he’s more likely to trade Dickey, Lucas Duda and Jon Niese than Ike Davis, Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler to make that happen… though I’m not sure any of these people will be moved.

The last two seasons were about removing (and not adding) long-term commitments, while also evaluating prospects.

He has just $5 to $10 million to spend this winter, so I expect maybe one substantive trade surrounded by smaller acquisitions. However, because of Jason Bay and Johan Santana, he’ll have close to $50 million to spend one year from now, since the team’s budget should still be around $100 million.

Also, if I had to bet, Scott Hairston will not be on the Mets if he gets a two-year offer from another team, and Bay is more likely to be released during next season than before it (assuming he can’t be traded first).[/sny-editorial]